


Born and Bred

by Gabri



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bigotry & Prejudice, M/M, Multi, Omegaverse, Rape/Non-con Elements, a/o/b, dub-con situations typical to omegaverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-03
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-16 01:50:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2251422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gabri/pseuds/Gabri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As much as he didn’t want to think about it, Hiccup knew what exactly was going on here. And it wasn’t just his father’s 'alpha toughness' that made him too afraid to open his mouth again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Born and Bred

**Author's Note:**

> Moving this to ao3 from tumblr since I plan on adding more at some point (says the slow writer as she slowly writes)
> 
> I'm not totally sure how to introduce A/O/B fics if you've never read them before so I'd just suggest reading up on it if you're totally new to the concept, but since there’s a billion takes on omegaverse anyway and mine’s already using different rules... idk just bear with me I'll try to establish the big differences as I go;;; I think the most important thing to know here is that there’s a lot of social prejudice and expectations that come to the roles. And that Alphas can impregnate Omegas. That’s kind of a thing.
> 
> talk of dub-con in this chapter.

"I don’t feel so good…"

Stoick grunted at him from across the room.

Not that Hiccup could fault him, exactly. Complaining about a little fever wasn’t even something he’d consider typically _high_ on his priority list (the viking life wasn’t very big on whining, even when there was perfectly good reason for it - and especially when your Dad was King Viking to start with) but still, a line had to be drawn somewhere, and considering he had only made it to the third stair down before his knees had begun to buckle…

Eyeing the fourth stair made complaining an even more attractive option….had the floor of his house always looked like it was oceans away?

It wasn’t like he hadn’t been sick before. Fishbone of a preteen that he was, Hiccup had rather resigned himself to catching colds first and getting out of bed last. Or maybe that wasn’t fair - maybe it was just being next to his father that made him feel so vulnerable. Stoick was a battleship of a Viking, and either illness passed right over his tall, fiery head…or he was so stubborn in ignoring discomfort that they had all come to believe he was thoroughly unsinkable.

Jack, the only son of the Overland family who kept his hut low near the island tides, used to joke that it was just his ‘ _Alpha toughness_ ’. Hiccup could hardly call that fair judgement. It wasn’t like they had any Omegas on Berk to compare to, anyway.

Still, this didn’t feel like something a little viking stubbornness could fix. It churned beneath his stomach, twisting knots that forced his hand automatically around his middle, and for some reason even with the fur vest shucked off and only a loose tunic and pants to pad around in, every scrap of clothing that lay against his skin felt indescribably heavy. He could swear the texture had even changed, scratchy and hot despite the coming bite of winter already on the air. His cheeks were fever-bright, warm beneath his hand when he tried to touch them.

"Up with you, son." came his father’s grudging rumble, and Hiccup couldn’t hide the gasp that stuttered from his mouth when a beefy hand grasped him around the upper arm to tug him back to his feet. The contact ached strangely, hyper-sensitive against his skin, like someone had thrown a bucket of hot water over him and left him there to suffer through the aftershocks.

Stoick jerked his hand back as if his son’s skin was red iron.

For a long moment he just stared, open-mouthed and stiff with alarm. Then he plucked him up again by the back of the tunic, careful not to touch him directly in the process.

Hiccup squawked in surprise as the stone steps vanished from underneath him. He managed another yelp when his father deposited him back in his upstairs bed, hurrying furiously from the room before Hiccup could get a good look at his face. The lumpy mess of sheets were only half-straightened, some of them kicked out entirely where he had rolled himself out of bed, and the brush of fabric against his skin felt like the grit of sand.

For some reason, despite the discomfort, he found himself drawing it closer, wrapping himself up within a blind tangle and letting the scratch of wool and linen send shivers through his already-itching blood. The warmth pooled madly in his face, welling up in his chest, low in his stomach and—

…huh.

…that wasn’t entirely normal, was it?

Hiccup pressed his legs together tightly and drew the blankets in closer still, staring intently up at the ceiling and hoping against hope that whatever his father was doing, it would keep him busy for a while.

Just his luck. For a stretch of time he was alone, but too embarrassed and downright confused to dare to explore that…particular ache…despite racking his brains for what could be the source of it.

Fever? _But why….?_

Maybe just one of those mornings…? Puberty was a. _Thing._

_But I don’t feel…._

Hiccup fisted his hands into the tangle of blankets and tried not to whine.

_Okay, so don’t think about it. Worry later. Sleep!_

…impossible. He yanked a blanket over his head, unable to resist squirming in the sheets as he listened to what sounded like ceramic breaking downstairs.

Stoick returned a good fifteen minutes late with a basket thrown over one shoulder and a mug of….something….wordlessly shoved in not-so-gentle command towards his son’s face.

Hiccup curled himself in tighter, daring sniff the rim. Definitely not water, but not strong enough to be mead. One thing was for sure, it couldn’t be Gothi’s _plague-be-gone_ \- there was a distinct reek to that concoction which by now he could only conclude was a repulsive mix of yak’s milk and bird droppings (Thor knew how that was supposed to heal anyone, but saying no to Gothi was like saying no to living through the winter. And besides, sometimes you weren’t so picky about taste when you were retching up everything you ate anyway.)

Still, somehow not knowing what he was ingesting felt even worse than downing their elder’s usual disgusting remedy.

"What’s…?" Hiccup started suspiciously.

"Drink." was the only answer.

Hiccup took a sip and shuddered violently. Whatever it was, it was sour on his tongue and thick enough to be offered with an order of ‘eat’ instead.

"All of it." Stoick commanded.

"It’s, it’s gonna come right back up…"

"Then make sure it doesn’t."

Hiccup drank. His head was spinning. His father sat and watched him until it spun less and less, until most of the need-to-touch-sick-sick-sick feeling had gone away and he just felt vaguely sleepy. Somehow he had gone from a warmth-muddled mess to utter…nothing. The blankets laying atop him felt as heavy as stones. When Stoick stomped away again, shutting the door behind him as he left, Hiccup hardly even noticed.

There were no more jars breaking this time, but after a few minutes Hiccup found himself listening to the sounds of fists hitting the tables. He drifted between sleeping and waking, caught on the thread of wood splintering, the door opening once and slamming shut again. Gobber’s voice soon joined the mix. They were trying to talk in whispers, but their version of whispering was louder than Hiccup could shout.

He began to feel sick again when he could make out the words.

His father returned at last with an air of miserable finality and sat at his side. Folded his hands awkwardly in his lap. Hiccup, feeling suddenly and vividly like he was laying on his death bed, wondered if it was too late to pretend to be asleep. The ill sometimes slept with their eyes open, right? Maybe his father would even play along…it could be worth a shot. Odin above knew neither of them wanted to be here right now.

There was still a tingle of heat still lingering between his legs that he was trying very, very hard to ignore. Worse still, the bed beneath him, hidden by the sheets, felt. Sticky. Wet. All along his inner thighs and…further…making him wriggle with discomfort and humiliation - _wet._ Not that he could move much anyway, even if he wanted to - whatever Stoick had him drink may as well have drugged him for all the energy it sapped that away.

Or maybe he could blame that on his own brain.

As much as he didn’t want to think about it, Hiccup knew what exactly was going on here. And it wasn’t just his father’s 'alpha toughness' that made him too afraid to open his mouth again.

"We need to talk." Stoick said at last.

—-

As it happened, Jack spent the same morning feeling off.

Most likely because of the stack of work left to do. Stress like that always set his teeth on edge. Not that the chores were so bad - give them a little twist and you could turn them into a game! - but just because there was so much of it. He had spent most of the day before with Hiccup, trying to show him tricks on staying afloat. Swimming wasn’t the top pass-time in Berk, especially not for the Chief’s son - Hiccup always said the water was too cold. And sure, on their little island the tides could freeze you to the bone if you stayed in too long, but spend enough time practicing and you got a little used to the chill. Besides, what if you fell out of your boat one day and needed to paddle your way back to shore? Keep your head above a tide harsh tide? It happened.

He broke a mug trying to get breakfast ready, then in an surge of frustration totally unlike him, shattered another against the floor to vent. His mother’s eyebrows crept up to her hairline, watching him with pursed lips, until finally she crossed the room and started to touch his forehead and rather abruptly sniff at the side of his neck.

Jack stared back at her in bewilderment, watching a light flick on behind her honey-brown eyes.

"Give us a moment, would you?" She asked Emma sweetly with her hand tight on Jack’s shoulder. A curious pout came over Emma’s rounded features, glancing at Jack for extra confirmation. After a thousand afternoons causing trouble for her amusement, she was his go-to for guidance.

Jack grinned crookedly back. “I’ll catch up!” And so she nodded, albiet reluctantly, and stepped around the broken shards to get to the door. Jack found himself staring down at them guiltily, and was already moving to gather up the pieces when his mother smoothed a hand quickly through his hair and pulled him into an unexpected embrace that left him careening on his tiptoes for balance.

"Mom—-?!"

"I’m so proud of you!" she gushed, her breath short and quick with excitement behind Jack’s reddening ear. "Your father would be so proud! You were taking so long that I was starting to get worried—"

Ah.

….right.

So, it was just that time of his life.

That was okay. Everyone else was making such a fuss over it, offering guesses and getting all worked up about whether or not they were Alpha or Beta material that Jack had tried to laugh it off rather than fret. He couldn’t see how it mattered, really. Everyone in his family had been a Beta for as far back as he could trace, so this was just his time to take on the name. Nothing would change. Although he wasn’t sure the warmth in his forehead was really a sign - maybe just a bit of a flush?

"—I didn’t think! Well, with no Omegas, it’s sometimes a little hard to tell, isn’t it? And you’re such a sweet child, mild really—"

"….thanks….?" The hugging was turning into an uncomfortable squeezing. Jack stared over her shoulder and at the mess on the floor, feeling suddenly anxious. It wasn’t like him to lash out like that - it was just a few chores missing, really, and it probably scared Emma too. He hadn’t even glanced at her to tell. A flood of shame washed over the anxiety — that just wasn’t fair. "I’m sorry - Mom. I’ll pick up the—"

"No, no! Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it. You’re just in one of those moods, especially early on, it’s probably overwhelming, isn’t it?" She released him at last, beaming up into his face. Over the last few months Jack had finally gained a little height on her - just an inch or so, but she wasn’t overly tall to begin with. Small around she shoulders. She always said Jack’s shoulders were his father’s, but it’s not like he had ever known him to be sure—

"—wait. _Moods?_ ”

"Alpha tempers." she laughed, watching his face eagerly as if expecting a joyful glow to light him up as well.

Jack blinked speechlessly at the broken pieces on the ground.

…it wasn’t that the idea of an Alpha disgusted him, exactly. Astrid never disgusted him. And there were a decent handful of adult Alphas that trekked around Berk as friendly as could be. Hiccup’s father was an Alpha, and sure he was a little loud, but that was the Chief in him talking. Stubborn, but they all were, weren’t they? It was only Hiccup that seemed uncomfortable about them, but then he had to live with one, so…

It was just that….Jack was a _Beta_. He was supposed to be a Beta since the time he was born.

…and he hadn’t exactly prepared for anything else.

"And this means you’ll be the head of the household…when you’re ready of course." she added in a rush, smoothing out the fur on his shoulders next as if he were some rare, valuable treasure. "And wait until we tell your friends…!"

"Whoa, whoa - Mom, we don’t have to tell my —"

"Oh? You don’t want to…?"

Jack reached for a chair, smiling already because…what else was he supposed to do? He supposed it was good news, just a little —

_—wow. Surprising…._

And because, despite how Jack had been getting through the last few years just assuming this wasn’t a big deal at all, his mother was looking at him now like this was the greatest moment in her life.

"I’ll let them know for you." he said at last. "And Emma." A shade of disappointment was already coming over her face, so Jack nudged her gently and added; "It’s my good news, right? Let me tell it!"

That earned him a nod. “If you like, then. But I really am proud, my son! My _Alpha_ son!” she added with another hearty laugh, shaking him by the shoulder again - “Odin, who would have thought?”

Jack grinned automatically and remembered with sudden regret Astrid’s face the last time he had teased her about her temper. He’d spent so long joking about it, giving up fights with a flourish whenever she found it necessary to argue….it was going to be a little strange now, if she decided to turn the tables on him when he found out.

… _if_ she found out…?

——

It was about that age when everyone was on tether-hooks for a sign. Most of the girls came of age first, Toothiana promptly at the front of the row. She was a lovely dark-skinned viking who arrived Berk on Trader Johann’s ship and had already earned her keep ten times over.

Jack called her a treasure magnet. Somehow, whether it was attached to the bait of her fishing-hook or turning up underfoot during morning jogs - she had the luck of the gods when it came to finding valuable stones or dropped coin.

"Beta." Toothiana announced around the fire one morning, shrugging tightly as if she wasn’t particularly surprised. The others gave her a once-over, a few drumming their fingers as if debating the wisdom of inquiring further. To Hiccup’s surprise, Astrid leaned over and sniffed at her neck, wrinkling her nose a little as if she wasn’t sure what to expect.

Betas were the most common, and no particular let down either way. The real prize was Alpha - Chief material, really. Strong, leader-like, respected….most certainly not what Hiccup was holding his breath to be, even he did catch the bit of hope in Stoick’s eyes from time to time. Hiccup knew it wasn’t likely….but well, if fate happened to give him a good hand for once…

"I don’t smell anything."

"It’s supposed to be faint." Toothiana mumbled, then surprised them all by following up the comment with a blush. "It’s not like we get in those Alpha _moods_...”

Most of the group pointedly did not look at Astrid. She was one of the few the lot of them had already made up their minds about - fierce, fearless, and with a natural dominance to her that automatically lent her to the leader of the group, even when she hadn’t said a word to nominate herself. They were already calling her Alpha years before it was official.

It was only curious how Snotlout, who not long afterward became their only other Alpha in the adolescent group, turned pink when she sat across from him.

Jack, of course, made a game of the whole thing, which Hiccup thought was nice break considering how antsy some of the teens were getting over waiting for their own signs. Bowing to Astrid when she walked past in a huff - it earned him an elbow or two, sometimes, but that was just Alpha nature, they all knew. Naturally inclined to rough others up, come out on top of a joke. Jack didn’t seem to mind. He played up the unamused jabs like injuries, coughing and sputtering and then fumbling to lower his head again when Astrid whipped back around. It wasn’t until she was officially presented as an Alpha that Astrid actually seemed angry about it - before it was always just a sigh, impatience in her eyes but accepting enough at the silly show of respect. After the title, her face would flush red, her lips would pull back into a snarl. Instead of walking away, she’s stomp.

Jack stopped after that, offering her fish around the fire by way of apology. She didn’t accept the fish, but she didn’t show her teeth to him either, so Hiccup at least knew that they were friends again.

At least Jack called them friends. Hiccup knew Jack - he was the closest thing the scrawny pre-teen might have to a friend himself in their village. He smiled at him, joked with him instead of at him, and when Hiccup was alone in a group Jack would bounce on over and stand next to him, jabbering about family life and apprenticeships and the start of training sessions that Hiccup wasn’t allowed to attend.

So they were friends…good friends. Granted, sometimes they didn’t have time to spend together, but he had a busy life. A different section of Berk to stick to, around the coastline and around his sister. Emma was seven, and despite having peers her age to play with, Jack was always her closest companion. Hiccup had always thought it sweet of him, but it wasn’t until the Alpha-or-Beta talk started flaring up that he found out the others were thinking differently about his fondness for the younger Berkians.

"He’d rather play with kids than play with us.” Tuffnut complained one day while they were seeing Stoick’s ships off. He was rubbing at his elbow sourly, looking around for a sign of ruffled brown hair. “We haven’t wrestled for a month because he’d rather _babysit..._ ”

"If he wanted to babysit, he’d be wrestling you.” Ruffnut cackled. “…but you’re right…I miss the bruises…”

"He’s just so easy with kids, though." sighed Toothiana. "Besides, he’s a good influence on them—"

"You’d almost think he was an Omega." Snotlout broke in, rolling his eyes. "They just looooove their babies…"

Curious looks from around the gang.

"Well, he might be! He hasn’t presented himself yet, right?" He dropped his voice an octave, gesturing them closer with a handwave. The twins huddled in; Astrid stood aloft, her jaw set sternly. "And Omegas have a natural draw towards kids, they see a baby and they can’t resist. It’s an instinct."

"How would _you_ know?” Ruffnut deadpanned.

"Dagur said—"

"Oh, well if _Dagur_ said it then it must be true.”

"Yeah, it is! They have a ton of Omegas in Berserk, it’s like a baby-loving army. They do all the parenting stuff, and you don’t even have to tell them to, they’ll just DO it. And when they get into heat there’s no stopping them—”

"What, you mean like they burn up?" Tuffnut chimed in.

"Catch on fire?" Ruffnut perked up hopefully.

"It means they want to be pregnant." Toothiana said quietly. Alphas had heats too, technically, but they were dull, dim things that were only noticeable by a stronger scent instead of the usual faint aura you could only really pick up if you were nose-to-neck, and a shorter temper to boot. Besides, nobody really called it _heat_ anymore when it came to Alphas. Hiccup heard it tossed around in phrases instead - “she’s in a _mood_ ,” or “he’s getting full of himself.” Without Omegas on Berk, there was nothing to feed the Alpha heats to make them anything more. So they just folded in on themselves uselessly when they came around, like firewood without a fire.

Snotlout huddled them closer, a gossiping gleam in his eyes.

"Dagur said when they get like that, you gotta tie them down. If you don’t, they just climb all over you like they’re trying to eat you alive - you ever see a Nadder with a pack of sheep?"

"Gross." breathed Ruffnut with morbid fascination.

"And at the coming of age ceremonies there, they just toss an Omega in, and everyone gets a turn—"

"That’s disgusting." Astrid broke in at last. Her voice was knife-sharp and edged with the same finality Hiccup had heard his own father shout with when he wanted to end their arguments. But Astrid didn’t shout; she spoke coolly and quietly, arms folded tightly over her chest.

Snotlout straightened hurriedly. “I know, right? That’s what I said!”

Berserk had a much higher population than Berk, at least three times their number. Hiccup had never been to the island to know himself, but the throngs of metal-studded Viking that showed up during Berserker’s peace treaty tour were always large enough to make their tiny town raise eyebrows. Berk was a land where everyone had to know how to fight, no matter their job - or their size - but Berserk, as he heard it, was a land of expendable bodies.

And their Omegas were stolen. Or at least, stolen a very long time ago, before the peace treaty was in tact — not that Berk had any Omegas to steal now in the first place. But the understanding was that over generations, Berserk-born omegas weren’t considered retrievable anymore. They were born and bred there, after all, and taking them would just start another war with a new, personal grudge to it. He had never heard his father even mention an idea of the sort - thankfully, because in any right it was kidnapping. And sure, they were Vikings, and stealing for themselves was a bragging right, but stealing human beings had a sour flavor to it, especially when it came down to what they were going to be used for.

It wasn’t long after the dock-side conversation that Jack failed to show his face around the town for a day, and according to the twins, had missed his training session to boot. Emma padded about without him, practicing poorly with wooden swords and chasing the other children in clumsy games of tag.

It was so unlike him to vanish that Hiccup couldn’t help but begin to worry. He thought he might sneak off to see him later — maybe offer a bit of that awful _plague-be-gone_ just in case. Jack would get a laugh out of it, if nothing else.

And if it turned out to be nothing, at least they could keep each other company.

And then came the morning that Hiccup woke feeling sweaty and sick, and suddenly there was a much more pressing matter to concern himself over than sharing a laugh with a friend.

——

"We’ll keep a calendar." Stoick said gruffly. "Whenever it comes back, we’ll put you away for as long as we need to until it’s subsided—"

” _That’s…!_ " Hiccup huffed, sitting up in bed. "… _Dad!_ That’s overreacting, come _on!_ All I have to do is drink some of that sludge and it’ll go right away—”

"Not next time. _This_ here—” his father gestured with familiar graciousness to his entire body, which for once may not have been an exaggeration. “ _This_ wasn’t a full….”

_Heat_ , Hiccup finished in his head, more thoroughly and utterly miserable than he had ever been in his life.

"…a full…. _thing_.” Stoick finished at last.

"And…" he twisted his hands together in his lap, almost afraid to ask. "What are full…. _things_ …like?”

"…when I say stay in the house, you stay in the house. No exceptions."

Hiccup gaped at him. “ _Okay…?_ What if the house is on _fire?_ ”

"If there’s a raid, I’ll put you somewhere safe."

"What if you’re not around?"

"Then you stay in the house."

"You don’t think there’s a single fang-toothed, fire-breathing exception that will make me want to _leave-—-?_ ”

"We’ll have Gobber take you out to outskirts if we need to. Nobody will find you there." Stoick stroked his beard nervously, his eyes far away. Picturing the terrain, most likely. "There’s already a hut that Gothi uses for the sick. It’ll do."

Hiccup tried very hard not to think of himself, burning up with a heat ten times as powerful as that little tingling need that had washed over him earlier, with only wooden walls and distant bird cries and the sound of his own panting breath to keep him company.

It took a lot of self control not to fold into himself at the thought.

Instead, he forced a laugh. It came out weak, a reedy sound that made them both wince. “Right, because that’s not suspicious at all…”

"With how often you run off, it’s not." Stoick snapped. "That’s me, you, Gobber, and Gothi. No one else knows. You’re not tell tell anybody. Understand?"

"I’ll try to resist the urge." Hiccup mumbled flatly.

"I’m _serious_ , Hiccup!” Stoick’s voice rose to a near-shout, taking on that Alpha edge that made Hiccup flinch back and shut his mouth. The same way he always did when Stoick used that voice, even when he was a child. Or just even just yesterday, before he knew he was an Omega. “If _anyone_ were to—”

"Dad, _please._ " Hiccup broke in, trying very hard not to feel lower at the thought than he already did. "It’s _ME_. Nobody’s exactly clambering over themselves to _court_ me…”

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Stoick shifted in his seat. Glanced away briefly. When he spoke again, his voice was low, almost a growl. “ _Listen to me._ " he intoned, and Hiccup chewed his lip and listened. "If you never do a single other thing I say, _**do this**_. Stay in the house. Bite your tongue. Not. A single. _Word._ Understand?”

_….I can’t believe this…._

"Good. Once every morning, drink this. Then wash yourself—"

” _Wash_ myself?” His father was never so extravagant.

"With this." More digging through that basket where the mug had been produced. Stoick brought up a fistful of what looked like leaves crushed into the shape of a bar of soap and glossed over with fat. _Disgusting._ “On your neck especially. It’ll leave a coating on your skin. You’ll be passable as a Beta with it.”

"Where did you..?"

"And you drink the entire mug, every last drop. You’re not to cross this doorway unless you’ve taken care of that first, no exceptions."

Hiccup curled his hands against his thighs, scarlet.

…it was always so typical with him, wasn’t it? The typical third option. The typical mistake. He had been hoping maybe it would never come up, that if he stubbornly avoided the approaching issue long enough it would just slide right past him without ever having to be faced. Or maybe nothing would happen, ever, and they’d just call have to call him a Beta. His father would have been happy with a Beta.

Hiccup thought of Jack suddenly, absent for training practice and no where to be seen with Emma. “I was…going to the smithy…” he tried at last, daring a glance at the closed door behind him.

"You’re staying inside for the rest of the week. _No._ " Stoick repeated when Hiccup opened his mouth again, livid. "You are. We’re going to fix some things."

"Things?" _You mean things about me. You’re going to fix me._

_Well, good luck with that. You’ve only been trying to fix me since I was born, and here I am, just as uselessly un-viking and in your way as ever._

_And even more so, now._

——

To his relief, Astrid didn’t seem to pick up on the hidden Alpha in their midst. Emma questioned Jack about the incident later, but he told her it was only a bit of scolding for the broken mugs - she’d believe that easily enough. He wasn’t sure how to have that kind of conversation with her, and it was unnecessary anyway. His being an Alpha wasn’t supposed to change anything, even if it was an honor in it’s own right.

Maybe he’d get better in training courses. A little extra muscle - was that how it worked? Jack had never bothered to ask. Surely he wouldn’t turn into _Stoick_ overnight. And he was no Astrid to begin with, coming out light years on top in every fight, walking around with a natural air to her like she knew she was the natural leader of the pack.

Jack never knew anything like that. And even Toothiana, who had a noticeable fierceness of her own (and an uncanny talent with duel wielding that Jack hadn’t seen even Astrid match), had ended up being a Beta in the end.

Jack tried to offer to take Hiccup swimming again to get his mind off the change, but Hiccup was no where to be found. Snotlout said something about him being grounded - screwed up a life times too many raids, apparently - but Jack knew Hiccup when his father was trying to punish him and usually there was a lot more sneaking around and distant, booming shouts around Berk to match.

It was days later again when Hiccup turned up again by the tides, slumped and a little winded looking with his fur vest hanging off him crookedly. Watching the fish, it seemed. There was a smoked salmon helpfully skewered and on his lap, and he was picking at it thoughtlessly, taking bites now and then between his fingers.

Jack sat beside him and and stretched out his legs for the waters to touch. The profile of Hiccup’s face was oddly blank, lower lip caught between his teeth. When he reached the straighten the limply hanging vest, Hiccup dropped the bit of fish in his hands and made a startled sound that was nearly a yelp.

"Whoops…" Jack pulled his hands back quickly and offered a questioning smile. "Tired?"

"I - sorry! Startled me…" He frowned at the morsel dropped in the sand and nudged it away in defeat, turning back to face the skyline again. There was a redness to his eyes that wasn’t there before. Jack frowned a little, racking his brains for a good game to play with the recently grounded. Or recently sick - Hiccup was defiant kid, sure, but maybe he really had come down with something if a bit of fresh air was still making him look so…worn.

_Something to say…something to say…_

"So I got my title…"

Hiccup turned sharply to look at him. Jack smiled sheepishly, hugging his knees. If he had to tell someone first, it might as well be his friend. “I guess we can all stop wondering now, right?”

"You…did?" Hiccup croaked.

"It’s been a crazy week."

"…you can say that again…."

Jack toed at the sand, grinning. “It’s been a crazy week~” he teased, and felt a blossom of pride spread out through his chest when the corners of Hiccup’s mouth lifted at last. “Not to pry but. Are you okay?”

Hiccup wrung his hands in his lap. “I’m just a little… _worried?_ About you.”

"About _me?_ ”

"Well, yeah." breathed out, exacerbated, and suddenly it was as if a switch had been flipped and the aura of melancholy went away. Hiccup’s hands took to the air, gesturing wildly, puncturing his babbling with exclamation marks and frantic sweeps of his palms. "I just - aren’t you _scared_ at all? That you’ll - I mean, _I’d_ be scared, if I were— were a…and what if they take you away? Or if you lose your mind, or—”

"Lose my mind?”

” _I don’t know!_ I heard that’s what it was like. I don’t know what it’s actually like! And how old do you have to be anyway? Before they expect you to have…? _You know...?_ And, and you gotta look after Emma and you can’t just — I mean, come on, _babies? Really…?_ I don’t think anyone would even expect you to just…!”

Automatically his hands went for Hiccup’s shoulders again. He didn’t flinch away this time, but the babbling rushed to a stop, green eyes blinking brightly back at him. “Okay, alright, just…slow down. Nobody’s taking me anywhere. Hiccup.” He stopped to process the rush of words before adding, “…and nobody’s having _kids._ ”

"You said you got your title." Hiccup whispered back, blinking.

"Yeah? But I’m not having _kids!_ " Was that what he was worried about? Jack sputtered to himself, thinking it over. Someone must have been gossiping. It wasn’t surprising that he was talked about, really, it’s just that…talked about like an _Omega?_ He hadn’t known….

"Oh."

A pause.

"I did too, actually. Dad took me to Gothi…"

Jack’s heart thudded. “Yeah?”

"Yeah. So…you’re, you’re not a…?”

"Nope." Jack gave his shoulder a playful nudge, opened his mouth —-

And he was about to say it, he really was. Maybe it was just the mention of the Chief, and the way Hiccup’s face took on a greenish tint at the reminder. Or maybe it was the mental image of Astrid bowing mockingly back to him, or all those kids on Berk, Snotlout and the twins and Toothiana all looking at him in surprise, saying, 'you're a _what?_ And pretending that they hadn’t been talking about him differently.

So then what, they’d just suddenly turn around and respect him? After secretly laughing that he might be an Omega? After even his _best friend_ thought he might be? They might even think he was lying if he turned up claiming Alpha…but then he hadn’t made up his mind if it was even an attractive option in the first place. Running the household…less time with Emma….people looking at the back of his head the way they look at Astrid’s, like they needed to be scared of her or they needed to be bitter. Jealous.

"…Beta." Jack said at last, and was relieved when his voice came out sounding natural and calm.

Hiccup wiped at his eyes.

"Yeah." he laughed, smiling weakly. "Me too."


End file.
